Although recent research indicates that girls are more proficient readers than their male
counterparts, evidence also suggests girls are losing interest in reading for enjoyment. My
research addressed the issue of girls who say they are not interested in reading and believe that they
cannot find anything of interest to read. The study explored the introduction of gamification to a reading
program for Year 7 girls in an independent Catholic girls’ school. Students played a series of online and
offline games based on novels, authors, and genres and collaborated in teams to agree on answers. They
also collaborated to generate content that was used to create some of the games. Quantitative and
qualitative data were collected using interviews, library circulation statistics, surveys and observations.
Three themes were identified from my data: gamification fosters joyful competition; competition fosters
joyful collaboration; and collaboration fosters reading for enjoyment opportunities. Findings indicate that
the girls were competitive in a gamification environment; however, the collaborative nature of the process
and approach was also responsible for many moments of joy. In turn, “collaborative joy” generated a
renewed motivation to read for enjoyment.